Alarm at high death rate among Darwin's homeless

An organisation working with homeless people in Darwin says itinerants are dying at an alarming rate.

Larrakia Nation says more than 80 people have died while sleeping rough over the past 18 months, and the rate seems to be increasing.

The organisation's chief executive Ilana Eldridge says some of the deaths have been among people who drink heavily and suffer organ failure.

But she says there's an emerging pattern of people dying after coming to Darwin for medical treatment, and finding themselves with nowhere to stay.

"You have people with precarious levels of health who are frequently admitted to hospital and then released from hospital back into homelessness," she said.

Ms Eldridge says accommodation needs to be provided for remote community residents who come into Darwin for dialysis treatment, so that they and the family members accompanying them do not end up sleeping rough.

"People are forced to move into ever more inhospitable places in Darwin such as in the mangroves, in small remnants of bush, very close to swamps and the like where they're unlikely to be seen.

"So they're more likely to be exposed to mosquitoes, to be further away from a tap for fresh water or from an ablution block."

The Northern Territory Health Department says non-local dialysis patients are offered hostel accommodation, but some choose not to take it.